Diagnostic golf club system

A system for determining the shaft flex profile of a golfer, the system comprising:

• a golf club including a club head and a shaft attached to the club head, the shaft having a wall defining a hollow interior, the wall having an exterior surface and an interior surface, the shaft having a tip end in proximity to the golf club head and a butt end opposite thereto, the shaft having an opening to the hollow interior at the butt end;
• a first plurality of strain gauges for providing strain measurements during a golf swing mounted onto exterior surface at the tip end of the shaft, and a second plurality of strain gauges for providing strain measurements during a golf swing mounted on the exterior surface at the butt end of the shaft;
• a circuit board positioned within the hollow interior of the shaft, the circuit board comprising a memory circuit for storing the strain measurements, a power control circuit a first signal conditioning circuit for the first plurality of strain gauges, a second signal conditioning circuit for the second plurality of strain gauges, and a serial communication circuit, the memory circuit including a non-volatile flash buffer memory;
• a power means positioned within the hollow interior of the shaft for providing power to the circuit board, the first plurality of strain gauges and the second plurality of strain gauges;
• a first plurality of wires connecting the first plurality of strain gauges to the circuit board, and a second plurality of wires connecting the second plurality of strain gauges to the circuit board;
• a grip mounted on the butt end of the shaft;
• a processor for processing the strain measurements from the first plurality of strain gauges and the second plurality of strain gauges to provide a shaft flex profile for the golfer, the processor being separate from the golf club head and shaft;
• and
• an interface mechanism for transferring the measurement data from the memory circuit to the processor,
• wherein the non-volatile flash buffer memory is capable of storing data for multiple swings of the golf club until the data is uploaded to the processor via the interface means.

A system for determining the shaft flex profile of a golfer, the system comprising:

• a golf club including a club head and a shaft attached to the club head;
• means for measuring the swing loads of a golfer during a golf swing, the load measuring means disposed on die shaft;
• means for storing swing load measurements generated by the load measuring means, the storig means including a non-volatile flash buffer memory disposed in the shaft;
• means for generating a shaft flex profile for a golfer from the swing load measurements, the generating means being located separate from the golf club;
• and
• means for transferring the swing load measurements to the generating means,
• wherein the non-volatile flash buffer memory is capable of storing multiple swing load measurements indicative of multiple golf swing until the measurements are transferred by the transferring means to the generating means.

A system for determining the shaft flex profile of a golfer, the system comprising:

• a golf club including a club head and a shaft attached to the club head;
• means for measuring the axial force on a shaft during a golf swing, the axial force measuring means disposed on the shaft;
• means for measuring the transverse shear forces on a shaft during a golf swing, the transverse shear force measuring means disposed on the shaft;
• means for measuring the bending moments on a shaft during a golf swing, the bending moments measuring means disposed on the shaft;
• means for measuring the torsion on a shaft during a golf swing, the torsion measuring means disposed on the shaft;
• means for storing a set of measurements generated by the axial force measuring means, the transverse shear force measuring means, the bending moments measuring means, and the torsion measuring means, the storing means including a non-volatile flash buffer memory disposed in the shaft;
• means for generating a shaft flex profile for a golfer from the measurements, the generating means being separate from the golf club;
• and
• means for transferring the measurements to the generating means,
• wherein the non-volatile flash buffer memory is capable of storing multiple sets of measurements indicative of multiple golf swings until the measurements are unloaded by the transferring means to the generating means.

A method for determining a shaft flex profile for an individual golfer, the method comprising:

• activating a golf club having an on-board diagnostics comprising a plurality of strain gauges mounted on an exterior surface of a shaft of the golf club and a non-volatile flash buffer memory located within the shaft;
• swinging the golf club;
• measuring a plurality of strains on the shaft;
• storing the strain measurements in the non-volatile flash buffer memory, the non-volatile flash buffer memory storing strain measurements for multiple swings of the golf club;
• downloading the strain measurements to a processor separate from the golf club;
• calculating a plurality of forces and moments from the swing;
• and determining the shaft flex profile for the individual golfer based on the calculations.